City Council Work Session to discuss options to manage continuing decline in Development Services revenues
The construction industry in the United States has suffered a catastrophic decline, and Portland is no exception. The City's permitting agency, the Bureau of Development Services, relies upon fees collected from building permits to fund its services, and the number of building permits have dropped to unprecedented levels. A precipitous decline in revenues that began in the Summer of 2008 has continued into 2010, resulting in a reduction in staff at the Bureau of more than 200 people, leaving just 160 today.
The City Council will be discussing how to help the Bureau of Development Services meet its service delivery requirements in a dismal construction environment, as well as how the effects of such a decline can be minimized in the future. Commissioner Leonard will be proposing the modernization of BDS' permit review system to computerize the intake and review system and move away from the archaic system that exists today, which includes multiple paper sets of every building plan, and shopping carts. The new system would increase productivity dramatically by eliminating tedious and time consuming tasks, while enhancing service to customers.
You can watch the work session beginning at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, February 9 on Public Access channel 30, or online.
Light Council Agenda highlighted by PGE Park Good Neighbor Agreement, and the Annual Safety Recognition Day
There is a reasonably light City Council Agenda this week, highlighted by the Council's consideration of a Good Neighbor Agreement between Peregrine, LLC--the operators of PGE Park--and the Goose Hollow and Downtown Neighborhood Associations. The Good Neighbor Agreement is an update of an existing agreement that memorializes the responsibilities for PGE Park in mitigating the impacts of the stadium on the surrounding neighborhoods.
Other items of note on the Council Agenda include: